Boehringer Ingelheim is to invest €70m to expand its manufacturing plant in Shanghai, China.
The firm will also build a chemicals R&D laboratory Centre of Competence on the Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Shanghai.
The German pharmaceuticals firm says the expansion will make the Zhangjiang plant one of its most important sites in the Asia Pacific region.
The plant will produce solid dosage forms (tablets) and liquids (syrups), and employ 350 people. Production capacity is expected to triple by 2018.
'Our objective is to meet the demand for more health in China. It shows our continuous commitment to China and specifically Shanghai,' said Wolfgang Baiker, Member of the Board of Managing Directors, responsible for Biopharmaceuticals and Operations at Boehringer Ingelheim. 'With our investments in China we will be able to offer more innovative medicines for Chinese patients, helping them to improve health and quality of life.'
The expansion includes a packaging centre with space for high tech packaging lines, new quality control labs and an automated warehouse and logistics. Output will reach over 150 million packages by 2016, rising to 220 million by 2018.
The Centre of Competence has been relocated from Waigaojiao to Zhangjiang High-Tech Park. This laboratory, which started operation in 2010, specialises in optimising processes for and analytical testing of active pharmaceutical ingredients and chemical intermediates procured from Boehringer Ingelheim’s strategic partners in China.
Baiker added: 'We will invest further into the site in 2014 to set up a development lab for biopharmaceuticals. All these activities show Boehringer Ingelheim’s commitment to supporting innovation and growing our business further in China – one of the most important pharma markets in the world.'
